Lakes Permitted To Fill

Canals With Hungry Carp

August 19, 1994|By HENRY FITZGERALD JR. Staff Writer

LAUDERDALE LAKES - — After months of waiting, the city got a secret weapon this week to battle weeds in its canals.

On Tuesday, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission issued a permit allowing the city to release grass-eating carp in the canals. Tamarac officials just released 8,000 of the fish into their canals.

"It's been a long wait," said Cliff Goodin, director of the Lauderdale Lakes Public Works Department. "We got the idea to add the fish last year, and we hope to add them within three weeks."

Officials are optimistic the hungry fish and chemical spraying will help rid the city's canals of choking weeds and unsightly algae. Residents say they can't wait to see if the fish can do the job.

"These canals look terrible around here and it's a shame," said Ed Copeland, an 18-year resident of Lauderdale Oaks Condominiums. "The city used to keep them clean, but lately the weeds are so thick you could walk across the canals."

City officials are asking residents to be patient. Last November, they warned the contractor responsible for cleaning the canals that the waterways were looking worse than ever. The contractor started intense spraying, but never regained a handle on the problem.

"We decided in January not to renew the contract," said council member Max Fox, who heads the Public Works Committee. "We bought our own equipment and we're doing it ourselves. But we can't get rid of all the weeds. The combination of little rain and lots of sunshine has caused the weeds to grow faster."

The canals look bad because of hydrilla, a hearty, fast-growing aquatic weed with spreading tendrils. The tendrils lie atop the water and algae latches onto it, giving the appearance of a green carpet.

"I know we're going to get a ton of complaints for the next month," Goodin said. "We have to live with it until the fish are established."

The city plans to introduce 1,144 of the fish into its 88 acres of canals. The fish cost $3.30 each. They live 10 to 15 years and are genetically altered so they don't reproduce. The fish also can grow up to 40 pounds and they eat their weight daily in hydrilla.

"We're hoping that with the fish and chemical spraying we can get the weeds under control within a year of release," Goodin said.